Patti LuPone Sets Broadway Return, Two Years After Giving Up Equity Membership

Patti LuPone is heading back to Broadway this summer in the new comedy The Roommate, just two years after she gave up her Actor’s Equity membership card.

For those who don’t know, Actor’s Equity Association is the union that represents live theatre actors, including all of the performers on Broadway.

Back in 2022, Patti called Actor’s Equity the “worst union” and decided to withdraw her membership after five decades.

“They accepted my resignation and told me that if I ever wanted to rejoin, I’d have to be approved,” Patti told People at the time. “And it’s the perfect reason I withdrew from Equity. Fifty years to this year … I’ve been a card-carrying member of Equity, and they don’t know who I am basically. They just said, ‘Fine, but if you want to rejoin, we’re going to have to approve you.’”

“I just thought, ‘This is ridiculous.’ And I don’t know when I’m going to be back on stage,” she added. “But then the best kept secret is that you can perform without being a member of Equity. Nobody knows that, so I don’t use their services. So, I’m not a member of Equity anymore.”

So, what’s Patti‘s new play?

Keep reading to find out more…

She will star alongside Mia Farrow in The Roommate, a new play by Jen Silverman and directed by Jack O’Brien.

In the play, Sharon’s never had a roommate before. In fact, there’s a lot Sharon’s never done before, but Robyn’s about to change all that. The Roommate shatters expectations with its witty and profound portrait of a blossoming intimacy between two women from vastly different backgrounds, as they navigate the complexities of identity, morality, and the promise of reinvention. Being bad never felt so good as it does in this riveting one-act about second acts.

Farrow commented, “The Roommate is funny, quirky and brilliantly written, and when I learned that Patti LuPone was interested in doing it, how could I resist? She is, of course, a Broadway icon without parallel and we have been friends for decades. It is exciting to be returning to Broadway.”

LuPone said, “It’s always a big decision to return to the stage, and I certainly had no intention of being back on Broadway so fast. But when I read the play and heard Mia was attached, it became the easiest decision of my life. I’ve always been a fan of Mia’s work and she is a treasured friend. We’re going to have a blast.”

Read more into Patti‘s decision to give up her Equity card.